Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Next Chapter
by idskigirl
Summary: The Scoobies move to Cleveland, where another Slayer shows up. Rated T for the same reasons the TV show was TV-PG/14.
1. Chapter 1

_**My personal fantasy of what the Scoobies do after Sunnydale ... including but not limited to getting Tara back! Enjoy**_

**Chapter One**

**Welcome To The (Cleveland) Hellmouth.**

Buffy Summers stared at the strange girl in front of her.

"_What_ did you say?" Willow Rosenberg put her hand on Buffy's shoulder, calming her down.

"I said that I, ah, Angel sent me. He wanted me to help you," the girl told Buffy. "I'm … well …" she glanced at Buffy nervously. "A Slayer. I've been helping Angel and Cordy, and Wes, and he thought I should help you. To tell the truth," she laughed slightly, "I don't think he likes me."

"Why not? You're a girl, he's a guy, he has a …" Xander Harris trailed off awkwardly. "Hey, look, food to stuff my mouth with." He hurried away.

The girl stifled a laugh. "So, uh, I'm Lynnetta. But, I prefer Lynn. You're Buffy, right? Who're you guys?"

"I'm Willow, and the doofus that just ran away is Xander."

"Nice. He your boyfriend?"

"Nope. He's a single doofus."

"And you're dating who now?" Lynn asked Buffy.

"What's it to you?" Buffy replied defensively.

"Nothing. But a rather lot to Angel, you know."

"Oh. Nobody."

Willow rubbed her hands together. "Have you got a place to stay, Lynn?"

Lynn shrugged. "Hotel. Nothing fancy. I'm sponsored by Angel Investigations. Which reminds me, I have to hand out his card. Why on Earth I'd hand out his card to people in Ohio, I don't know, but money's money."

"Well, if you don't have a place to stay, why don't you stay with me and Kennedy?"

"Who's Kennedy?"

"My, you know, roommate."

"Sure, thanks. Oh, also, Angel gave me something he said you might like, that he'd been looking for since the last time you were there." Lynn handed Willow a book. "It's all about making wrongs right, or something. He said you'd know. Oh, he also told me it was about Tara. Should have told you earlier. Damn."

Willow took a deep breath and took the book. "I-I have to go." She ran off.

Lynn turned to Buffy. "I guess I turned all your friends away, Yoda."

"Yoda?"

"Well, the way I see it, I'm like Luke Skywalker, and you're Yoda. But not green and short and you have proper grammar and normal ears. So more like Obi-Wan. But not old. And not a guy."

A long-faced redheaded boy rounded the corner. "And who is this fine young lady who apparently likes Star Wars?"

Buffy groaned. "Andrew, go away! This is a Slayer."

A short brunette jumped out. "A Slayer? Cool!"

Buffy buried her head in her hands. "Just go, everyone. Lynn and I need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**The Harvest: This Time We're Even More Hungry**

**_Previously on _****Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Next Chapter:**

**_Buffy, Willow, Xander, Kennedy, Andrew and Dawn have moved to Cleveland, where another Hellmouth resides. Lynn, another Slayer, shows up with a message from Angel to Willow: A way to bring Tara back from the dead. _**

Lynn looked around Willow and her roommate Kennedy's apartment. It was nice, with two rooms, but Lynn could tell only one was in use.

"So," she said to Willow as she came out of the bathroom, "how long have you and Kennedy been dating?"

Willow looked like she'd been caught peeing on Lynn's food. "Oh – well – a few months. She's a Slayer, too."

Lynn nodded. "So, when does Buffy start teaching me the facts of Slayer-life?"

Willow shrugged. "Whenever. I mean, she likes you, but is a little …" she trailed off.

"Put off?" Lynn suggested, gesturing to her green hair, thick eyeliner, and leather pants and jacket.

Willow nodded sympathetically. "I mean – you're nice, a-and – well, I think you remind her of another Slayer who – who wasn't, you know, nice to her."

"Yeah. It's cool. I've been thinkin of changing my hair back, anyway. To brown."

"Well – " Willow broke off as Kennedy came out of the bedroom. "Hey, sweetie, good sleep?"

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Quit asking me that, Willow, I look like crap." She yawned and reached for a coffee cup. "Who's this?"

################################################## ######################################

"And then, it'll be just, _poof_! and you'll be gone." Tamora told her group. "That's how it is when you fight a Slayer."

The vampires shifted nervously on the sewer floor. They had wanted to get the Slayer ever since she showed up, and tonight they were going to attack. They had spent a month planning this, and now their leader was telling them they'd just be dusted?

"Unless, of course," Tamora continued, "You're smart, fast, and under a capable leader. So, I think most of you are smart and fast, and I'm more than capable. So tonight, we attack!"

The war-cries of the vampires echoed up the tunnel and escaped out the manhole.

################################################## ########################################

"What's that?" Dawn asked Andrew, who was walking alongside her. "Sounds like someone's in the sewers!"

Andrew shrugged. "Buffy wouldn't want you to go down there. Or me."

"I wasn't going to," Dawn said, annoyed. "But maybe we should tell her."

"Yeah, and then maybe she'll let us help stake them!" Andrew said sarcastically.

"Yeah!" Dawn cried, not catching the sarcasm.

"I was kidding, Dawn," Andrew told her.

The short sixteen-year-old sighed. Andrew was right. "Hey, maybe we could do something that helps, something non-dangerous, and then she'll be happy!"

"Like what? Everything helpful is dangerous when you're friends with a Slayer, Dawn."

"Well – maybe we could – hey, you can tame demons, right?"

Andrew blinked nervously. "I can _train_ them, I don't know about "tame," but …"

"So maybe we could get a minor demon and train them. Like an attack dog."

"No, Dawn – " Andrew stopped. Dawn could see that it actually made pretty good sense. "Okay. I'll look some stuff up. Let's keep going."

Dawn skipped down the road. Finally, she was helping!

################################################## ###########################################

Xander looked at the picture of Anya and sighed. He missed her so much, her beautiful face, her obsession with money, and her ex-demon qualities that made her say whatever was on her mind. He leaned back against the wall. He loved her so much.

But then there was this girl. Lynn. Green hair, leather clothes. He felt something. And, of course, because he was Xander, he said something idiotic for his first impression.

He rubbed his face. It sucked to be Xander.

################################################## ########################################

Once she was sure Kennedy was on patrol, Willow pulled out the book Lynn had delivered. _Tara_. She closed her eyes, and so many memories came back.

The way she stuttered when she was nervous.

The way she wanted her room to be "Willow-friendly."

The way she wanted Willow to be happy.

The way she held Willow's hand.

The way she smiled.

The way she smelled.

The way she died.

Willow slammed the book shut, her heart racing. It wasn't fair. If it wasn't for her, Tara would have been nowhere near Buffy's house when Warren –

Willow opened the book again. She'd never really gotten over Tara. She still felt guilty every time she hugged Kennedy, or called her "sweetie." It didn't help that Kennedy was so cold. She missed Tara, and her sweet laugh.

Making a list of the supplies she needed, Willow set out.

################################################## #########################################

Buffy, Lynn and Kennedy were on patrol. Lynn was a natural, Buffy thought. Still, neither of them had anything on her.

After a vampire apiece, they decided to get some ice cream.

"What was that?" Lynn asked.

Kennedy shrugged. "A person. If it's a vamp, we'll stake it. Come on."

"No – there's a lot of them, whatever they are."

"Uhh – come _on_! There's nothing to be worried about!"

"Actually," a voice said, "there is."

Buffy turned and punched the face of the speaker. Lynn and Kennedy sprang into action, dusting two vampires at the same time. The vampire that spoke punched Buffy in the stomach, then turned to the others and said, "Enough! We don't want to be decimated. Let's go. But we'll be back, Slayer. We'll be back."

"Should I run after them?" Lynn offered.

"No – they don't seem like that big of a threat. Okay, let's go. Be on the lookout. good ears, Lynn."

Kennedy scowled and followed the two Slayers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Witch (In Love)**

_Previously on __**Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Next Generation**__:_

_The Scoobies moved to the Cleveland Hellmouth, Willow received a spellbook from Angel to bring Tara back to life, Andrew and Dawn decided to train an "attack demon," Xander's struggling with his growing attraction to Lynn, a vampire cult with a smart leader grows stronger, and Buffy began to train the new Slayer, Lynn._

Willow looked around and started to recite:

_Convérterit amissum puellam iniustae causae. Quae fuit ante illam, et reducent eam. Sic vivamus in hoc mundo ad eam quasi non est mortuus!_

A shining light spun around the room and made her dizzy.

_Reduc me amantem! Ita ut ostenderet reducere amores!_

She kept chanting, even though she wanted to throw up.

_Etiam reducent eam in celeritate ut non moreretur. Reducent eam mihi._

**_Reducent eam mihi nunc!_**

Willow's heart beat extraordinarily fast and she fell over, but not before seeing a large dark shape loom over her …

################################################## ################################

"Willow? Will? Willow?"

Willow sat up. Her eyes were fuzzy. "Tara?"

"What? No. Kennedy. Willow, are you okay? You look …"

"Yeah. Fine. Has anyone been here?" Willow asked. Where was Tara? Had she even raised her? And what was she going to do about Kennedy?

"No. Jeezus, were you doing – magic? Oh god, oh god …"

"No – Kennedy –" Willow tried, but Kennedy had already ran out. Great. She had one girlfriend that she didn't know what to do with, and one that she couldn't even find.

################################################## ##################################

"Mmmm," moaned Tamora. "That was de-_licious_! Mayors are so nummy! Right, Spikey?"

The bald, squinty-eyed vampire turned around. "Yes-s-s-s-s, Tamora my deares-s-s-s-t …."

Tamora grinned. "You know, for someone only fifty, you sure are smart. And hot."

The other vampires tried to keep stoic faces.

"Let's go. The Slayer might be here any second. Hellman, Keebler, take watch."

################################################## ######################################

"… and one bloodstone, please." Andrew pulled out his wallet and gave the register-lady a fifty. "Thank you."

He and Dawn set off. "Do we have everything we need?"

Andrew nodded. "Well, I still need some preparation, but I think we'll be ready when that time comes. It's a special occasion, taming a demon, so it needs to be on the night of the least amount of moon."

Dawn nodded. "Oh, Buffy's going to love this!"

Andrew nodded. "Then we'll be part of the Scooby gang. I hope."

Dawn shrugged. "You sort of are. I mean, they don't like you because you killed your best friend, not because you're Buffy's sister."

Andrew winced. "Right. Let's go."

################################################## ###################################

Lynn jumped up and down a few times.

"Hey," a voice said.

She grabbed the speaker by the throat until she realized it was Xander, Buffy's friend.

"Oh. Sorry. Hi," she said, releasing him. He rubbed his neck.

"I'm Xander, aka 'the man you should not choke.'"

Lynn cocked her head. "Whatcha gonna do to me?"

Xander bit his lip. "Dunno yet."

"Mm." Lynn started jumping again. "Want to run with me?"

Xander shook his head. "I'd never be able to keep up. You Slayers, you're so …"

"So, when did you and Buffy have sex?"

"What?! No – I …"

Lynn shrugged. "It's fine. The way you're talking, you had sex with one, and Kennedy's a lesbian, and you haven't had sex with me … to my knowledge. So … Buffy?"

"Nope," Xander told her. "Another one. Faith's her name."

"I see." Lynn stepped closer to him. "Where's Faith now?"

"L.A."

"So, nowhere near you and your boys."

Xander licked his lips. "Nope. Haha. Nope."

Lynn stepped back and sighed. "Tell me about your rough breakup."

"Oh – well – my – how are you so good at this?"

"My dad worked for the FBI. He taught me to read body-language."

"I see. Well, Anya and I dated for … three and a half years. And she died."

"Oh. Ow."

"Well, when you're friends with a Slayer … it's dangerous."

Lynn nodded. "Am I dangerous?"

################################################## #################################

Tara lifted her hand up, shielding her eyes from the sun. The world felt so new. She felt bad about running away from Willow, but she had been disoriented. Now she couldn't find her way back.

She'd looked in the phone book, but Rosenberg, Willow didn't appear on it. Neither did Summers, Buffy or Harris, Xander. She'd decided to find a cemetery to hang out in, and wait for Buffy to come patrol. Hopefully she'd come and patrol …

"Kennedy! Lynn! We're patrolling. Be on the lookout for that vamp gang. They seem dangerous."

################################################## #################################

The Slayers loaded themselves with stakes and set off.

They reached the cemetery, and Kennedy spotted her first Slay of the night. She'd show Buffy she was just as good as Little Miss 'I have great ears.'

"Over there," she hissed, pointing.

"No!" Buffy said loudly. The vampire looked up. Way to go, Ms. Know-It-All, way to go.

"I mean – that's a person! I know her! Tara!"

_Tara_.

"Tara?" Willow had asked. "No, Kennedy," Kennedy had responded. Willow had seem much more concerned with Tara than Kennedy.

The blond girl hurried over. "Buffy – thank god – I couldn't – I need to …"

"Come here. Ken – Lynn take Tara to Willow's house. Kennedy and I'll patrol."

Why didn't Buffy The Slayer want her to take Willow?

Then it hit her.

_"I went overboard, on the magic, after Warren killed my girlfriend. Tara. I loved her so much, and it pushed me over the edge – I used the magic and stripped the skin off him – that's why I hate magic."_

She had used magic to get Tara back. Tara. TaratarataratarataraTARA!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH , she screamed inside.

################################################## ###################################

"In here," Buffy motioned. They put their ears to the door in the sewer.

"Oh, Spike, please – yes, do me, do me good, oh Spike you – I love you so much!"

Buffy kicked the door down in a flash. She grabbed the vampire girl and punched her.

"Don't – touch – him," she stressed.

"Tamora! Kill her!" came the cry of Spike.

"And _you – _" Buffy turned around and grabbed the vampire.

It was a bald, ugly vamp, _not_ Spike.

"You know," Buffy told him, "In my mind, there's really only going to be one Spike, and he has a lot more hair than you. And much better abs. So find a new name. Maybe … Stake?"

She plunged her wooden stake into his heart, turning him to dust. "Let's go, Kennedy," she said.

They made their way out of the sewers, a tear rolling down Buffy's cheek. She wiped it away.


End file.
